SFMQG is excited to be hosting Blair Stocker the weekend of March 7-8th, 2020.
Blair has been creative her entire life. As the owner of Wise Craft Handmade, her passion is simple - those special fabrics we hold on to and want to use in just the right project? She designs modern patchwork quilts with them. The coveted, vintage, and important fabrics (plus the stories they hold) are what inspire her most.
Saturday, March 7th will be a full day workshop - Boro Inspired Stitching.
Register in the Store.
Class Description:
In this workshop, we will work on making a mini quilt top, wall hanging, (or floor pillow)
version of the quilt in my book Wise Craft Quilts called “Boro”. The word “Boro” is based on a Japanese term meaning “tattered cloth” or “rags” and it is a beautiful example of mend and make do. These pieces are very improvisational and fun to create! I will have several different examples of projects for you to get inspiration from.
In the quilt images above, I have pieced several different fabrics together to create a
“base layer” for the quilt top. Then over that base layer, I added patches and stitching in
different places all over the quilt top/base layer.
The handwork aspect of this quilt is a very important part of the process. For that reason, we will spend only half the class piecing together our base layer, to make sure we have the second half of the class open for working on our hand stitching. I have included a Color Palette chart that I refer to when picking colors for this quilt.
Supplies:
● Fabrics for your base layer - 2 ½ yds total of quilting weight fabrics. These make up the
largest, “Foundational” part, of the Color Palette Triangle. These should be an
assortment of 1 or 2 color(s) you’d like to see most in your finished quilt. Good contrast
between them is nice (for example, in the quilt above I used cream and indigo). In my
experience, these base layers are great in neutral colors like dark blue, cream, etc.
● Supporting and Pop fabrics - These are accent fabrics/colors/textures in the quilt. They
will be hand sewn on to the surface of the quilt. Following the Color Palette Triangle,
bring several small and medium-sized pieces of fabrics to use for these (think in sizes
of 2”-6”). Suitable fabrics include- vintage linens, feedsacks, small special scraps,
quilting cottons, large prints you can fussy cut, etc. (Denim can definitely be used, but
not so thick you can comfortably hand stitch through it.)
○ My “Supporting” colors was a range of several creams and whites (think of a
color or colors that compliments the foundation). My “Pop” colors were pinks
and greens (these brightest, or most contrasting colors and fabrics- the ones
your eye will be drawn to).
● Embroidery threads and a hand sewing needle - Pick several embroidery thread colors
in all 3 color categories (foundational, supporting, and pop) to consider as you
construct your quilt top. We will be discussing different ways to use them. Suitable
threads are Size 8 Perle Cotton, embroidery floss, Sashiko cotton thread.
Regular sewing machine thread will likely be too thin to use and will not show your
hand stitches up well. Make sure your needle is compatible with the thickness of
thread or floss you bring. (Note: All of the supporting and pop fabrics are handstitched
down with these threads, no machine stitching is needed.)
● Marking Tools - I use a variety of tools to mark areas on my Boro that I plan to hand
stitch. I love using a hera marker to mark quilting lines, but also a chalk pencil, frixion
marking pen, or a water soluble fabric marker are great. Beyond class, you will also
need low loft cotton quilt batting and backing fabric, each approx 4” larger than your
quilt top (to allow for any shifting).
● Glue - Some sort of washable glue to hold your pieces down temporarily will make your
project portable. I use Roxanne’s Glue Baste, but you can also use Elmers Washable
School Glue.
● Sewing Machine (don’t forget your cords and foot pedals!) and neutral thread
● Cutting Mat, Rotary Cutter, Cutting Ruler (There is not a lot of detailed measuring of a
free-form quilt like this, just a good, all-purpose quilting ruler you like to use.)
● Flannel-backed tablecloth or some batting, to use as a design wall.
Note: we need a few participants to bring irons and ironing boards for everyone to share. Please bring if you are able to do so!
Any questions please feel free to email me. Looking forward to sewing Boro quilts with you all.
Register in the Store.